Second Time Around
by Carebeark5
Summary: AU fic where Sabrina moves to Port Charles for a new start.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Talia! Nina, breakfast is ready." Sabrina Santiago called setting the steaming plate of pancakes on the table. "Cristian sweetie, eat it don't squish it up.

Talia came running into the kitchen of their new house. "How do I look mommy?" She asked placing her hand on her hip like she had seen other women do. Her eyes softened at the sight of her oldest. She walked over and attempted to straighten her ponytail which she insisted she could do herself today.

"You look beautiful angel."

Talia flashed her mother a smile and climbed onto the chair, her long dark hair swishing with the effort. She turned to look at Cris who was the spitting image of his daddy. She and Marco had been married for nine years and been highschool sweethearts. Sure they had married young but at the time they were madly in love, or so she had thought. Talia had been born a almost a year later and they had been happy for a while or maybe she was just being deceived the entire time. Maybe while she had been basking in their happy marriage and thinking everything was perfect, he had had other things on his mind. She wasn't exactly sure when things had gone wrong.

She for sure had never thought she would end up here, alone and raising two kids as a single mother. "Mommy will daddy call me tonight?" Talia asked with her mouth full.

"I'm not sure sweetie."

"But he said he would."

"I know he did, we'll just have to wait until tonight and see if he does. Finish your breakfast, ok. We have to hurry." Marco had told her he would call the kids but she wasn't too sure he really would. How can you explain to two young kids that their daddy is the reason they were no longer together. Why they had moved far away from their own home to start over in a new place. He hadn't even tried to stop them when she told him she was moving away and taking their two kids with her. Feeling a tug on her arm she turned to see Cris pointing to his sippy cup on the table, "Here you go baby."

When they had finished eating Sabrina quickly cleaned up, "Go brush your teeth monkey." She said turning to see Talia jumping up and down trying to make her brother laugh.

"I'm not a monkey mommy, I'm a little girl."

Sabrina drove Talia for her first day at the new school. When they pulled up outside, she parked the car and opened the back door. "Mommy is my new teacher nice?"

"I'm sure she is." Sabrina told her daughter as she unbuckled Cristian from his car seat. They paused outside the red brick building.

"Let's go mommy!" Talia shouted excitedly.

"Baby relax. Are you sure you want to start school today we can come back tomorrow," Sabrina joked knowing how excited she was about her new school.

"No today!" She said stamping her foot.

They walked into the brightly decorated hallway. "Ok sweetie, it says here your in room 2B with Mrs. Williams."

"Look mommy it's here." She said stopping in front of the door. The door was open and the teacher was greeting the kids that entered the class. "Hello I'm Mrs. Williams."

"I'm Talia and this is my mommy and my baby brother." She exclaimed happily.

"Sabrina Santiago," she said extending a hand to the teacher.

"Pleased to meet you Mrs. Santiago."

"Oh it's Ms. actually."

"Ok well Ms. Santiago we get out at two-thirty."

"Alright mi hija," she said bending down in front of her little girl. "I'll be here to pick you up at the end of the day. Be a good girl and listen to Mrs. Williams."

"I'm always good mommy, I love you." Talia exclaimed throwing her arms around her moms neck.

"I love you too." She said standing up as Talia ran off to join the other kids.

"She your oldest?" Asked a man with dark hair and the most amazing eyes she had ever seen.

"Yes it's her first day," she replied a sad smile on her beautiful face.

"My daughters right over there," he told her pointing to a little girl coloring at the table. Are you new in town? He asked her.

"Yes we just moved here from Puerto Rico."

"Oh wow you came a long way. I hear its beautiful there this time of year."

"Very beautiful. We came here for a new start." She said not wanting to get into the real reasons.

"Sometimes a new start is just what you need." He said sounding like he was speaking from experience.

"What's your daughters name?" She asked changing the subject.

"Emma and yours?"

"Talia and this is Cristian." She said turning so he could see the little boy.

"Hi Cristian it's nice to meet you," he said reaching out to shake the little boys hand.

Cristian buried his head in his mothers long hair, "I don't know what's gotten into him he's never shy."

"It's ok maybe he'll come around later."

Emma was coloring when another little girl sat down beside her. "Can I color with you?"

"Sure," she said handing her a piece of paper.

"I'm Talia whats your name?"

"I'm Emma, are you new here?"

"Yeah we just moved here from Puerto Rico"

"Where's that?"

"Far away. We had to get on an airplane to get here."

"I've never been on one, what's it like?" Emma asked picking up another crayon.

"Is lots of fun. It goes way up in the clouds."

"Really? That's cool."

"Alright class were going to get started, take your seats." Mrs. Williams said from the front of the classroom.

"I'm Patrick, by the way. Patrick Drake."

"Sabrina, Santiago." She said with a laugh realizing they hadn't even introduced themselves yet. "It's nice to meet you."

"Since your new in town if you ever need a tour of Port Charles..." He was saying as his phone buzzed. "Oh I'm sorry I really need to take this its the hospital." He told her excusing himself to take the call.

She shifted Cris higher on her hip, "What we gonna do today hijo? We have a few hours to kill until your sister comes home." She said tickling him.

"Sorry about that I just got bad news from work, one of our best nurses quit."

"Do you work at General Hospital?" She asked.

"Yes I'm the Chief of Neurosurgery there."

"Really? I'm starting work there in a few days."

"Please tell me it's as a nurse," he said with a smile.

"Yes as a matter of fact it is."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Alright class we have a new classmate and I want you guys to make her feel welcome here," Mrs Williams said standing in front of the class. "This is Talia Reyes, Talia why don't you stand up and tell us something about you."

Talia stepped up beside the teacher, "We moved here from Puerto Rico. Well mommy and my little brother but Papi didn't come with us." She told them as she rocked back and forth on her feet.

Mrs. Williams didn't want to pry into other people's business so she decided to continue on with her lesson. "Thank you Talia, now who can show me on the map where Puerto Rico is?" She asked looking around at her students.

"Well that's great then. When do you start?" He asked as they made their way down the hall and back out the the parking lot.

"Officially I start Monday of next week. I wanted to get the house set up and the kids settled so we came a little earlier."

"Well if you need any help navigating the halls of GH I'm the guy to ask. Monday I can show you around, maybe introduce you to some of the other doctors and nurses."

"Thank you that would be great."

"Oh hey and since our girls are in the same class maybe we can think about carpooling sometimes."

"Yeah that might be a good idea." She said just as Cristian started to whine. When he struggled in her arms she placed him on the ground and watched as he toddled across the grass. "Cris, quedarse con mama." He giggled before taking off on her. "Get over here mister." She said running after him and scooping him up into her arms and kissing his cheek. Patrick watched as the little boy laughed when his mom started tickling him and he couldn't help but think what a good mom she was.

"Sorry about that." She said carrying Cristian back over to where they had been standing.

"Don't be. Kids will be kids." He said with a laugh.

"We'll I better get this little guy home for his n-a-p." She said not wanting to say the word because she knew what a fight it would be to even get him to go down for a nap.

"I have to get to the hospital anyways, I'll see you around. And Monday I'll give you the grand tour." He said as they parted ways.

Luckily Cristian was fast asleep by the time they got home, the movement of the car having lulled him to sleep. She quietly carried him into the house and put him in his bed before starting to unpack some more of their things. They had already put some stuff in Talia's room but she was planning on painting the walls eventually to make it feel like her old room back home. Back home, she still thought of it as that her home. But deep down she knew she could never go back there.

At recess Emma and Talia shared a jump rope from the activities bin. "You can go first," Emma said handing the rope to her."

"Thanks." She said jumping a few times.

"So you said you have a little brother?"

"Yeah he's 2. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No but I want one."

"Why don't you tell your mommy and daddy?" Talia said handing her the rope so she could take a turn.

"My mommy's in heaven."

"Oh sorry. My mommy says when people go to heaven they watch over us and keep us safe."

"I hope so. Hey maybe you can come over after school to play?" Emma said handing it back to Talia just as the bell rang.

"I'll ask my mommy when she comes to pick me up."

"Its time to go pick up your big sister." She told Cristian as she strapped him into his car seat. The bell rang and kids raced out of the building as Sabrina stepped out of the car to look for her daughter.

"Mommy, mommy." She said running towards her.

Sabrina bent down as she raced into her arms. "Hey Nena! How was your day?" She asked kissing her cheek.

"I had fun mommy and I made a friend."

"You did."

"Can I go over to her house to play?" She said as Emma stepped forward.

"Hi I'm Emma."

"Her daddy's working sweetie so why don't we schedule a play date for when he's off." Sabrina explained. "It was nice to meet you Emma, why don't you ask you dad to give me a call and we can plan a day."


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh alright," she answered a little sad that they couldn't play together today.

"Sweetie do your have someone picking you up?" Sabrina asked looking around.

"Daddy was supposed to."

"Well maybe he called someone to come get you since he was called in last minute." Sabrina explained as the little girl just shrugged her shoulders.

"Ok how about we stay here with you until someone comes to get you." She told the girl not wanting to leave her here all alone.

"When daddy's working my Grandma Anna usually comes."

"See maybe she's on her way." Sabrina said as they headed over to a little bench outside the school to wait.

"Momma does this mean we can play?" Talia asked with a smile.

"Yes for a little while, but stay close ok."

The girls laughed and raced over to the swings, taking turns pushing each other. She was glad to see her daughter had a friend. The move had been hard on her, she just didn't understand why they were leaving the only home she had ever known. She hated leaving their friends and family but there was no way she could stay and deal with their gossip, pitying looks and the whispers behind her back. Port Charles seemed like the perfect place to start over and make a new life for her and her children.

Just then her cellphone rang pulling her from her thoughts. She shuffled through her purse to find it, "Hello."

"Sabrina? This I'd Patrick Drake we met earlier today."

"Yes I remember."

"I can't get out of work and I have no one to come get Emma, I was wondering if you could pick her up for me? I know we just met and this is..."

"Patrick it's fine she's right here with me. She and Talia are playing on the swings. Is it alright if I take her home with us and you can pick her up from there?"

"Thank you so much for doing this."

"It's no problem." She told him as she told him their address.

"Alright girls looks like Emma is coming over after all." Sabrina said going over to the swings as the girls jumped up and started jumping up and down.

As soon as Sabrina pulled into the driveway the girls were put no the car in a flash. She got Cristian out of his car seat and followed behind, "I wanna show Emma my room. Mommy said we can decorate it how I want." Talia said excitedly.

As soon as she unlocked the door they took off up the stairs, "Nena ten cuidado." She called after them. "Those girls are crazy aren't they hijo." She placed him into his high chair. "You hungry baby boy? Quieres comida?"

She decided to feed him first and then make something for the girls to eat later on. They probably wanted to play a little in Talia's room first anyways. She was glad they knew someone in town now. She had someone she could talk to and her daughter would have someone to play with and Emma seemed like a sweet little girl. Cristian startled her from her thoughts when he started to bang his spoon on the tray of his high chair. "You making music?" She asked handing him his sippy cup.

She grabbed a baby wipe and wiped his face and hands before setting him on the floor so she could make the girls lunch. She could hear them giggling upstairs and smiled. She knew that if she didn't have the kids she probably wouldn't have been able to get up in the morning after everything that happened. They were her reason to get up, to make a better life for them and to try to be happy again.

"Girls lunch is ready?" She called up the stairs as she watched Cristian walk towards the cupboards and open up one of the drawers, he began pulling put towels and wash cloths tossing them behind him. "No, no baby." She said picking him up. She hadn't had a chance to put the childproof locks on the new cupboards yet.

"What are we having momma?" Talia said coming into the kitchen with Emma behind her.

"Mac and cheese your favorite."

"Mine too." Emma said as they sat down at the kitchen table to eat.

"So girls how was school today?" Sabrina asked sitting down at the table with them as she kept an eye on Cristian who was banging a pot with his spoon.

"In art class we got to draw our favorite animals." Emma said taking a big bite of her food.

"And then we had to write about why we liked it." Talia added.

"So which did you choose?" Sabrina asked them.

"I picked an elephant and Talia chose a horse."

"You must get that from me, I've always loved horses." Sabrina told them just as the doorbell rang.

"That's probably your daddy." Sabrina said to Emma as she got up to answer the door. The girls followed her with Cristian toddling behind them and as she opened the door they peeked around the corner.

"Hi, come on in." She told him as he stepped inside and glanced over at the wall the girls were peeking around.

"I see you girls." He said as they giggled.

"It's ok it's my daddy." She whispered to Talia as they came out.


End file.
